i hope this, and variations on it, runs on every station in the country for the next 4 months.
just those “untrue” quotes, stretched over 30 seconds would be nice.
2.
Snark Based Reality
“Barack Obama. President.”
Niiiiice.
3.
jrg
While McCain fails to develop a narrative, Obama stuck with a narrative from the beginning. Obama’s narrative grows stronger every day…
A vote for McCain is a vote for Bush’s third term. Negative campaigning and brutally partisan politics got us into the mess we are in today.
Not only is Obama saying it, he’s got McCain saying the same thing. Obama knows that all the GOP has is baseless attacks… He’s been baiting them from the beginning. The GOP is a one-trick pony.
It’s good to see a Democrat take notice and plan for the inevitable personal attacks that the GOP will launch.
I don’t just think that McCain is losing, I think that we might be witnessing the end of the Republican party as we know it. Their message machine is being dismantled by the internet (Savage’s BS rant about autism would have gone unnoticed had it not been for Media Matters for America); They lost congress by a landslide two years ago; no one will run as a Republican in a local election; and their “presidential” nominee’s campaign is a joke.
If this ad gets picked up by the MSM talking heads, Old man McCain may as well pack it in.
4.
Shouting at the Rain
Nice ad. Straight and to the point.
Notice where the written word “old” appears in the ad. That’s no accident….
5.
Krista
Good stuff. He’s not calling McCain a big fat liar. He’s just pointing out that the media is calling McCain a big fat liar.
6.
TR
Looks like Obama gave McCain just enough rope to hang himself with. Nice.
7.
Just Some Fuckhead
Why does the narrator lady pronounce his name like Howard Fineman does: Bar/ack, instead of like Buh/Rock himself does?
8.
lee
I think that we might be witnessing the end of the Republican party as we know it
I have been thinking the same thing recently, but for a different reason.
If what everyone expects to happen does happen with pardons flowing like water at the end of Bush Jr’s term and IF the Dems play it right, we could see the end of the current Republican party.
9.
Kirk
So… how long before we hear complaints that “Obama’s doing attack ads Toooo!!”?
10.
Chris M
It took time for the media to come up with the quotes. “Baloney!” I love it.
11.
Krista
And if we’re really lucky, this ad will push McCain’s temper even more. Start melting some butter lads, ’cause it’s time to make the popcorn.
12.
GSD
This is outrageous! How dare this presumptuous upstart attack John McCain, man of honor?
-GSD
13.
cay
Never be complacent. Give Obama $$ now. End of July is tomorrow.
14.
Cap and Gown
Well, I don’t find the ad all that effective. I suppose some defense is needed and using other people’s take on McCain’s ads is the best way to go about it.
But the most promising line of attack for Obama would be a series of adds that list issues where McCain and Bush agree on the issues. Tax cuts for the rich for instance. Perhaps McCain’s talk about privitizing social security. (I can’t think of anything else at the moment since McCain seems to keep changing positions almost daily. Even the social security thing is iffy since he said one thing on Stephanopholis’s show while a spokesman took it all back.)
Another thing I think Obama should attempt is to refute McCain’s positions head on. For instance, on offshore drilling. We know this will not result in any more oil for 10 years at least and then only have a marginal effect on the price. Obama needs to not only say that, he needs to come out with the idea that we need to get away from oil altogether, not just foreign oil. After all, the price of oil is set by the world market, not by U.S. demand.
Obama has shown that he can educate the public on issues. His race speech was very good. Instead of being not just a great communicator, Obama can also be a great educator.
i think this is a brilliant if risky strategy. if obama can keep above the fray and not devolve into the mudslinging, he’s going to look like the better, more gracious candidate. an essay on moderate voice recently opined that the mud-slinging and fear-mongering will really turn off the independent voters, and that’s the bloc that mcmuffin needs.
that being said, i agree somewhat w/cap and gown that obama and/or the dems need to go more on the attack in the sense of pointing out the facts of the failing repubbblican policies of the past 8 years and how mcmuffin represents bush’s 3rd term.
17.
SpotWeld
To Cap and Gown: I see your point about linking McCain and Bush, but I suspect too heavy a hand on that would be counter to a main theme of the add. Attacking Bush is “old politics” as well. (And open the door to making Obama the next Clinton presidency)
As has been pointed out above the spot does a very good job and restating what Obama has been running on from day one.
My prediction will the ring-wing blogs clamping onto the the “take on big oil” sentence and turning that conflating that to mean the ad is a “socialist anthem”. (Sidestepping any real issues, of course).
McCain… I got no idea what his reaction will be. Something about town hall meetings? The guy is sounding more and more like one of the especailly dense bloggers. He just keep repeating stuff that got forwarded to him in an email or something.
Since the talking heads are all about turning this into a horse race they’ll be all over this since they can literally put it up against the McCain they’ve been playing all over the place. Obama’s campaign is much more web integrated so the add will go viral to a much greater degree.
Why does the narrator lady pronounce his name like Howard Fineman does: Bar/ack, instead of like Buh/Rock himself does?
Okay, I listened to the ad a few times and I didn’t hear this at all. Am I crazy, or is… the fuckhead crazy?
19.
MeDrewNotYou
Cap and Gown Says:
Well, I don’t find the ad all that effective. I suppose some defense is needed and using other people’s take on McCain’s ads is the best way to go about it.
I disagree. I think the ad strikes a great balance. Obama calls McCain’s lies out (through the media), but doesn’t do it in an insulting manner. Then we get reasons to vote for Obama.
McCain is flailing about but not giving a real reason to vote for him, his campaign is about not voting for Obama. I think refuting McCain is obviously important, but so is giving people a reason to vote for our guy.
20.
jrg
Cap and Gown Says:
I can’t disagree with anything you said, but that’s not how it’s going to play out. It’s much better (in my non-expert opinion) to have a simple narrative and develop it over the course of a campaign.
Think of it like an elevator pitch. Most voters don’t have either the time or inclination to read up on offshore drilling… If they do take the time to read up on it, they are probably Dems anyway.
The reason most political ads are not in-depth is because it’s more important for someone to repeatedly hear and remember a basic message, rather than hear an explanation they might not have the ability to understand or repeat.
Simplicity, consistency, and repetition are key to getting a point across to a large audience as diverse as voters (or household consumers) are. In some sense, the president candidates may as well be brands of toothpaste or fabric softener.
21.
cain
Now that’s what I’m talking about. It’s about time he went on some attack. That’s the kind of thing I want to put money on. Soaring rhetoric is all good, but I want to see some smackdown bitches! Word.
cain
22.
donnah
I hope they show it here. I just five minutes ago fired off an email to my local news station because they showed the beginning of the McCain “celebrity” ad as part of a news item. They went on to ask, “Is it true that Obama is arrogant?” and then they cut to a clip from Washington and some talking head who chuckled and talked about how a candidate has to be arrogant and “presumptuous” to be President. Hyuck hyuck. Republican talking points. How obvious can they get?
23.
KRK
CrazyDrumGuy Says:
Why does the narrator lady pronounce his name like Howard Fineman does: Bar/ack, instead of like Buh/Rock himself does?
Okay, I listened to the ad a few times and I didn’t hear this at all. Am I crazy, or is… the fuckhead crazy?
“You know, I don’t pay attention to John McCain’s ads, although I do notice he doesn’t seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me. You need to ask John McCain what he’s for and not just what he’s against,” he said.
“If you make above X dollars per year [where X is somethign like 200,000 or 250,000], then Barrack Obama will ask you, as a member of the top 1% of the earners in this country, to contribute your fair amount to the tax base.
If you make below X dollars per year, Barrack Obama will lower your taxes.
If you make above X dollars per year, John McCain will [not raise/actually lower] your taxes.
Who is looking out for your interests? Who do you want to vote for?”
And that should be about it, right?
26.
cain
Oops, damn link looked good in preview. I hate this site’s blog software.
A fantastic bit of subliminal work: most of the imagery of McCain is in black and white, just like those really old programs on the teevee box.
The tone is positive and upbeat. Also good. It takes five seconds to basically point out that McCain’s campaign has been blowing out lie after lie after lie, and then the rest is all what Barack Obama, Your Next Motherfucking President, is going to do.
Win.
28.
gaucho
To anyone that thinks this election will be the end of the Republican party, I’d direct them to the c. 2004 talk of a permanent Democratic minority. It’s amazing what 4 years can do. The “modern” two parties have each survived their share of landslides over their 150 years together. It’s not hard to imagine how an Obama landslide and Dem majority in both houses (60+ in the Senate is the kicker), could lead to yet another peak for the Reps 2, 4, or 8 years down the road.
29.
Just Some Fuckhead
Okay, I listened to the ad a few times and I didn’t hear this at all. Am I crazy, or is… the fuckhead crazy?
I can’t hear it now either. Motherfuckers must have changed it to fuck with me.
I’m wondering whom the Republicans are really going to nominate. My money says that McCain will plead health problems and announce that he’s regretfully bowing out just before the convention.
Pawlenty, bitches!
31.
Bruce Moomaw
Yeah, I saw that ad a couple of hours ago, and agree ethusiastically — except for the quote from the NY Times, which, as all Average Americans know, is an Extremist Librul newspaper and so not to be trusted.
On the other hand, McCain’s former pal and campaign advisor John Weaver just got fed up with his old buddy’s new strategy, and has quite deliberately provided Obama today with a big load of new ammunition (“Childish…tomfoolery…diminishes McCain…I’ve had enough”).
(I’ve also just seen tonight’s CNN poll. Only 2/5 of Americans think McCain has made unfair remarks about Obama — but only 1/4 think Obama has made unfair remarks about McCain. While landslide majorities think neither man is acting “arrogant”, McCain IS slightly better than Obama on that one — but only by 3%.)
32.
KRK
Dennis – SGMM Says:
I’m wondering whom the Republicans are really going to nominate. My money says that McCain will plead health problems and announce that he’s regretfully bowing out just before the convention.
A lot of people are saying something like this because McCain is looking SO pathetic, but there’s no way he’d go willingly or gracefully. Why would he? This is his one and only shot at getting what he abased himself for in 2000 and 2004. What does he have to lose? It’s conceivable that someone has the goods on him that could force him out at some point soon, but no way will he do it on his own.
And who are they going to replace him with? Didn’t he only end up with the nomination because he was the least polarizing of a mixed bag of candidates? I suppose the Republicans’ winner-take-all primaries could have skewed things somewhat, but a replacement by any of the other main candidates would just enrage the supporters of the other also-rans who weren’t chosen. Right? Are the Republicans really sitting on a ringer who didn’t bother to run in the primary?
33.
Brachiator
Cap and Gown Says:
Well, I don’t find the ad all that effective. I suppose some defense is needed and using other people’s take on McCain’s ads is the best way to go about it.
I see your point, but overall I think the ad is effective. I was not the only person to note that a great “counter attack ad” might be one that says “This is not just Democratic candidate tit-for-tat, but is a verifiable third party demolition of McCain/Bush.”
But the most promising line of attack for Obama would be a series of adds that list issues where McCain and Bush agree on the issues.
I disagree here because there are some who think that Bush was fine. This might be too nuanced (but Hell, I don’t do campaign advising for a living), but I don’t see why Obama in particular and the Democratic Party in general has not pounded home the following points.
McCain supports a Bush Administration which has made narrow loyalism tests, cronyism and rank incompetence the base of his administration. This is not making America safe. In fact it increases the risk to America.
A vote for Obama will be a vote for someone who will focus on putting competent people in positions to keep America safe.
A variation on this is to remind people that Bush promised to do better than past administrations and has failed, and that McCain is promising to do little more than continue to pursue the same risky strategy of the Bush Administration. The point here is that America cannot risk a continuation of Bush/McCain policies.
Tax cuts for the rich for instance.
People hear “Republicans. Tax cuts.” and stop. You have to be Perot smart here. All Americans want to be rich, and only foolish liberals want to harp on “tax cuts for the rich.”
The better formulation here (and one that is accurate) is that Bush’s tax policy unfairly penalizes the hard working middle class and poor people fighting to try to achieve the American dream.
Bush’s tax policies kill jobs. Bush tax policies steals money from wage earners and gives it to speculators and other charlatans, who then beg for a bailout when their phony investment schemes collapse.
A tax cut doesn’t mean a damn thing if you don’t have a job.
The Republicans always cry about class warfare. But the Wall Street Journal crowd declared war on the American worker and Bush tried hard to guarantee them a victory.
Obama could say that he will work with anyone who wants to create more jobs and higher wages for American workers
, but he will not have any time for anyone who wants to maximize profits at the expense of the best interests of all Americans,
Perhaps McCain’s talk about privatizing social security.
Yep. But possibly better: “Investors stole the homes and dreams of thousands of Americans. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security so that hedge investors and foolish financial institutions can play with your hard-earned retirement savings.”
What I am trying to get at here is that Obama has to make the threats to the middle class real and concrete. People would laugh at Perot when he would pull out a chart and say, “Look here. Here’s how Congress is wasting your money.”
But they would remember the point he made.
Another thing I think Obama should attempt is to refute McCain’s positions head on. For instance, on offshore drilling. We know this will not result in any more oil for 10 years at least and then only have a marginal effect on the price.
McCain and the Republicans have already shifted the terms of the debate here. They claim, probably incorrectly, that if you support off-shore drilling then the psychological effect will be to push oil prices down even though the benefits are in the future.
I think that Obama could kick McCain’s ass if he promised special tax breaks and research and development credits for America-based auto makers who would produce fuel efficient vehicles (significantly raising the CAFE standards) and also put Americans back to work at auto plants.
Alternative energy development is important, but its realization is even more speculative than the phony promise of offshore drilling.
Obama has shown that he can educate the public on issues. His race speech was very good. Instead of being not just a great communicator, Obama can also be a great educator.
People don’t want to be educated. They want their lives to be made better and easier. Education is then a nice bonus.
Are the Republicans really sitting on a ringer who didn’t bother to run in the primary?
If McCain does bow out I’d guess that it will be because the the R’s come up with a governor – they are going to lose some Senate seats so another Senator is dead out. They’ll produce someone with a squeaky-clean family and a mouth full of Bible verses.
36.
Davis X. Machina
…of course since it doesn’t fling shit all over McCain, we won’t be seeing it on every news cast for the next three days.
Don’t worry. If it did fling shit all over McCain, all you’d hear on every newscast for the next three days would be the screams of injured dignitude and maverickyness.
Because in America, it’s easier to change the government than The Narrative.
37.
AnneLaurie
So… how long before we hear complaints that “Obama’s doing attack ads Toooo!!”?
Charley Gibson opened his six-thirty newscast with the line that “both campaigns are going negative.” Followed by a single line from the Obama ad about “McCain says he’ll stay with Bush’s policies”, plus the greater part of McCain’s ad. Seems Obama is “the world’s biggest celebrity” [photo switches from the Brandenberg rally to shots of Paris Hilton & Britney Spears] because just like slutty white women famous for making sex tapes & not wearing pants, Obama demands dark chocolate powerbars and black forest tea. Also, arugula. No, I am not kidding about the emphasis… the infotainment show immediately after Gibson had a helpful powerpoint graphic, bulleting the offensive commestibles, and highlighted with a photo of Hilton not wearing a bra.
Shorter McCain campaign: “Barak Obama. Did you know he’s BLACK? Now look at these slutty white women while we use suggestive words involving… consumption. This ad paid for by John McCain, who is absolutely NOT black, and he has the melanoma history to prove it.”
38.
AnneLaurie
If McCain does bow out I’d guess that it will be because the the R’s come up with a governor – they are going to lose some Senate seats so another Senator is dead out. They’ll produce someone with a squeaky-clean family and a mouth full of Bible verses.
You just made Ricky Santorum come in his nice clean seersucker suit.
I know Santorum’s not a governor (yet), but his credentials as a foaming Talibangelical are so extensive and his personal ambition is so large…
39.
Bruce Moomaw
You’ll be comforted to learn that — according to NY Times reporter Jim Rutenberg — all this is happening because McCain has been hypnotized by evil Rove aides into following this new campaign strategy against his will. As Drum says, this is getting to be a bit much.
40.
zuzu's petals
I wish they’d put up Joe Klein’s “scurrilous” in big red letters, but I guess that’s too complicated of a word.
What I have not seen is it come from McCain or his campaign in such a way to merit the language Obama used today. Pretty inflammatory.
STFU
44.
DSC
This ad paid for by John McCain, who is absolutely NOT black, and he has the melanoma history to prove it.”
this had me spewing some BLACK (fair trade Kenyan, of course) coffee all over my keyboard
good one!
45.
Richardson
McCain in black and white is a funny idea, but they could have gone all out and made it look silent movie-ish with spliced screens and an off-set jumping reel a la Charlie Chaplin.
Not that John McCain is old or anything…
46.
linda
how many free runs has this ad had during the msnbc fratpac gatherings, compared to the mccain campaign’s freebies.
Especially since it’s going to drive the Brownshirt Blogosphere into paroxysms of absolute mouth-foaming rage. Pass some of that popcorn down the aisle, y’all.
48.
TheFountainHead
Yes! Yes! More! MORE!
49.
Adrienne
AnneLaurie:
I’m from PA and Santorum has ZERO shot at the governors mansion. Remember we voted his ass OUT of the US Senate and basically finished his political career. He’s out with the trash. It’s actually almost sad the way he tries to keep himself relevant by writing op-eds in the Philly papers that everyone important ignores. I guess noone told the “future star of the Republican party” that his 15 mins expired.
I’m from PA and Santorum has ZERO shot at the governors mansion.
They have many Santorums. Substance is nothing – image is everything for the Republicans.
51.
AkaDad
This is a really good ad, but for maximum effect, I would have started the ad with McCain’s quote on running an honorable campaign.
I like how the ad hits McCain on his strength of supposedly being a straight talker, and reminds voters of his biggest weakness, being Bush’s BFF.
I’m hoping to see an ad with this quote:
The fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. – John McCain
52.
Tonybrown74
AkaDad,
Is there video of him saying that? If so then the ad could be terrifyingly simple.
[Video of John McCain saying the quote]
Then Obama comes on, stating, “77% of America believe the country is on the wrong track. If you believe that it is time for change, then your choice is clear.
“I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.”
Done!
53.
Zuzu's Petals
I guess noone told the “future star of the Republican party” that his 15 mins expired.
Reminds me of the great Jeff Bridges-as-President quote from “Contender.” To the supercillious congressman:
“You’re the future of the Democratic Party. And you always will be.”
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cleek
i hope this, and variations on it, runs on every station in the country for the next 4 months.
just those “untrue” quotes, stretched over 30 seconds would be nice.
Snark Based Reality
“Barack Obama. President.”
Niiiiice.
jrg
While McCain fails to develop a narrative, Obama stuck with a narrative from the beginning. Obama’s narrative grows stronger every day…
A vote for McCain is a vote for Bush’s third term. Negative campaigning and brutally partisan politics got us into the mess we are in today.
Not only is Obama saying it, he’s got McCain saying the same thing. Obama knows that all the GOP has is baseless attacks… He’s been baiting them from the beginning. The GOP is a one-trick pony.
It’s good to see a Democrat take notice and plan for the inevitable personal attacks that the GOP will launch.
I don’t just think that McCain is losing, I think that we might be witnessing the end of the Republican party as we know it. Their message machine is being dismantled by the internet (Savage’s BS rant about autism would have gone unnoticed had it not been for Media Matters for America); They lost congress by a landslide two years ago; no one will run as a Republican in a local election; and their “presidential” nominee’s campaign is a joke.
If this ad gets picked up by the MSM talking heads, Old man McCain may as well pack it in.
Shouting at the Rain
Nice ad. Straight and to the point.
Notice where the written word “old” appears in the ad. That’s no accident….
Krista
Good stuff. He’s not calling McCain a big fat liar. He’s just pointing out that the media is calling McCain a big fat liar.
TR
Looks like Obama gave McCain just enough rope to hang himself with. Nice.
Just Some Fuckhead
Why does the narrator lady pronounce his name like Howard Fineman does: Bar/ack, instead of like Buh/Rock himself does?
lee
I have been thinking the same thing recently, but for a different reason.
If what everyone expects to happen does happen with pardons flowing like water at the end of Bush Jr’s term and IF the Dems play it right, we could see the end of the current Republican party.
Kirk
So… how long before we hear complaints that “Obama’s doing attack ads Toooo!!”?
Chris M
It took time for the media to come up with the quotes. “Baloney!” I love it.
Krista
And if we’re really lucky, this ad will push McCain’s temper even more. Start melting some butter lads, ’cause it’s time to make the popcorn.
GSD
This is outrageous! How dare this presumptuous upstart attack John McCain, man of honor?
-GSD
cay
Never be complacent. Give Obama $$ now. End of July is tomorrow.
Cap and Gown
Well, I don’t find the ad all that effective. I suppose some defense is needed and using other people’s take on McCain’s ads is the best way to go about it.
But the most promising line of attack for Obama would be a series of adds that list issues where McCain and Bush agree on the issues. Tax cuts for the rich for instance. Perhaps McCain’s talk about privitizing social security. (I can’t think of anything else at the moment since McCain seems to keep changing positions almost daily. Even the social security thing is iffy since he said one thing on Stephanopholis’s show while a spokesman took it all back.)
Another thing I think Obama should attempt is to refute McCain’s positions head on. For instance, on offshore drilling. We know this will not result in any more oil for 10 years at least and then only have a marginal effect on the price. Obama needs to not only say that, he needs to come out with the idea that we need to get away from oil altogether, not just foreign oil. After all, the price of oil is set by the world market, not by U.S. demand.
Obama has shown that he can educate the public on issues. His race speech was very good. Instead of being not just a great communicator, Obama can also be a great educator.
DannyNoonan
This reminds me of some expression involving someone’s own petard and doing some hoisting. In your face, old man!
skippy
i think this is a brilliant if risky strategy. if obama can keep above the fray and not devolve into the mudslinging, he’s going to look like the better, more gracious candidate. an essay on moderate voice recently opined that the mud-slinging and fear-mongering will really turn off the independent voters, and that’s the bloc that mcmuffin needs.
that being said, i agree somewhat w/cap and gown that obama and/or the dems need to go more on the attack in the sense of pointing out the facts of the failing repubbblican policies of the past 8 years and how mcmuffin represents bush’s 3rd term.
SpotWeld
To Cap and Gown: I see your point about linking McCain and Bush, but I suspect too heavy a hand on that would be counter to a main theme of the add. Attacking Bush is “old politics” as well. (And open the door to making Obama the next Clinton presidency)
As has been pointed out above the spot does a very good job and restating what Obama has been running on from day one.
My prediction will the ring-wing blogs clamping onto the the “take on big oil” sentence and turning that conflating that to mean the ad is a “socialist anthem”. (Sidestepping any real issues, of course).
McCain… I got no idea what his reaction will be. Something about town hall meetings? The guy is sounding more and more like one of the especailly dense bloggers. He just keep repeating stuff that got forwarded to him in an email or something.
Since the talking heads are all about turning this into a horse race they’ll be all over this since they can literally put it up against the McCain they’ve been playing all over the place. Obama’s campaign is much more web integrated so the add will go viral to a much greater degree.
CrazyDrumGuy
Okay, I listened to the ad a few times and I didn’t hear this at all. Am I crazy, or is… the fuckhead crazy?
MeDrewNotYou
I disagree. I think the ad strikes a great balance. Obama calls McCain’s lies out (through the media), but doesn’t do it in an insulting manner. Then we get reasons to vote for Obama.
McCain is flailing about but not giving a real reason to vote for him, his campaign is about not voting for Obama. I think refuting McCain is obviously important, but so is giving people a reason to vote for our guy.
jrg
I can’t disagree with anything you said, but that’s not how it’s going to play out. It’s much better (in my non-expert opinion) to have a simple narrative and develop it over the course of a campaign.
Think of it like an elevator pitch. Most voters don’t have either the time or inclination to read up on offshore drilling… If they do take the time to read up on it, they are probably Dems anyway.
The reason most political ads are not in-depth is because it’s more important for someone to repeatedly hear and remember a basic message, rather than hear an explanation they might not have the ability to understand or repeat.
Simplicity, consistency, and repetition are key to getting a point across to a large audience as diverse as voters (or household consumers) are. In some sense, the president candidates may as well be brands of toothpaste or fabric softener.
cain
Now that’s what I’m talking about. It’s about time he went on some attack. That’s the kind of thing I want to put money on. Soaring rhetoric is all good, but I want to see some smackdown bitches! Word.
cain
donnah
I hope they show it here. I just five minutes ago fired off an email to my local news station because they showed the beginning of the McCain “celebrity” ad as part of a news item. They went on to ask, “Is it true that Obama is arrogant?” and then they cut to a clip from Washington and some talking head who chuckled and talked about how a candidate has to be arrogant and “presumptuous” to be President. Hyuck hyuck. Republican talking points. How obvious can they get?
KRK
I can’t hear it either.
cain
There’s more smack down here
Relevant bit:
“You know, I don’t pay attention to John McCain’s ads, although I do notice he doesn’t seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me. You need to ask John McCain what he’s for and not just what he’s against,” he said.
Aww yeah!
cain
Breschau
I’m waiting for the simplest ad possible:
“If you make above X dollars per year [where X is somethign like 200,000 or 250,000], then Barrack Obama will ask you, as a member of the top 1% of the earners in this country, to contribute your fair amount to the tax base.
If you make below X dollars per year, Barrack Obama will lower your taxes.
If you make above X dollars per year, John McCain will [not raise/actually lower] your taxes.
Who is looking out for your interests? Who do you want to vote for?”
And that should be about it, right?
cain
Oops, damn link looked good in preview. I hate this site’s blog software.
here it is again
The Moar You Know
A fantastic bit of subliminal work: most of the imagery of McCain is in black and white, just like those really old programs on the teevee box.
The tone is positive and upbeat. Also good. It takes five seconds to basically point out that McCain’s campaign has been blowing out lie after lie after lie, and then the rest is all what Barack Obama, Your Next Motherfucking President, is going to do.
Win.
gaucho
To anyone that thinks this election will be the end of the Republican party, I’d direct them to the c. 2004 talk of a permanent Democratic minority. It’s amazing what 4 years can do. The “modern” two parties have each survived their share of landslides over their 150 years together. It’s not hard to imagine how an Obama landslide and Dem majority in both houses (60+ in the Senate is the kicker), could lead to yet another peak for the Reps 2, 4, or 8 years down the road.
Just Some Fuckhead
I can’t hear it now either. Motherfuckers must have changed it to fuck with me.
Dennis - SGMM
I’m wondering whom the Republicans are really going to nominate. My money says that McCain will plead health problems and announce that he’s regretfully bowing out just before the convention.
Pawlenty, bitches!
Bruce Moomaw
Yeah, I saw that ad a couple of hours ago, and agree ethusiastically — except for the quote from the NY Times, which, as all Average Americans know, is an Extremist Librul newspaper and so not to be trusted.
On the other hand, McCain’s former pal and campaign advisor John Weaver just got fed up with his old buddy’s new strategy, and has quite deliberately provided Obama today with a big load of new ammunition (“Childish…tomfoolery…diminishes McCain…I’ve had enough”).
(I’ve also just seen tonight’s CNN poll. Only 2/5 of Americans think McCain has made unfair remarks about Obama — but only 1/4 think Obama has made unfair remarks about McCain. While landslide majorities think neither man is acting “arrogant”, McCain IS slightly better than Obama on that one — but only by 3%.)
KRK
A lot of people are saying something like this because McCain is looking SO pathetic, but there’s no way he’d go willingly or gracefully. Why would he? This is his one and only shot at getting what he abased himself for in 2000 and 2004. What does he have to lose? It’s conceivable that someone has the goods on him that could force him out at some point soon, but no way will he do it on his own.
And who are they going to replace him with? Didn’t he only end up with the nomination because he was the least polarizing of a mixed bag of candidates? I suppose the Republicans’ winner-take-all primaries could have skewed things somewhat, but a replacement by any of the other main candidates would just enrage the supporters of the other also-rans who weren’t chosen. Right? Are the Republicans really sitting on a ringer who didn’t bother to run in the primary?
Brachiator
I see your point, but overall I think the ad is effective. I was not the only person to note that a great “counter attack ad” might be one that says “This is not just Democratic candidate tit-for-tat, but is a verifiable third party demolition of McCain/Bush.”
I disagree here because there are some who think that Bush was fine. This might be too nuanced (but Hell, I don’t do campaign advising for a living), but I don’t see why Obama in particular and the Democratic Party in general has not pounded home the following points.
McCain supports a Bush Administration which has made narrow loyalism tests, cronyism and rank incompetence the base of his administration. This is not making America safe. In fact it increases the risk to America.
A vote for Obama will be a vote for someone who will focus on putting competent people in positions to keep America safe.
A variation on this is to remind people that Bush promised to do better than past administrations and has failed, and that McCain is promising to do little more than continue to pursue the same risky strategy of the Bush Administration. The point here is that America cannot risk a continuation of Bush/McCain policies.
People hear “Republicans. Tax cuts.” and stop. You have to be Perot smart here. All Americans want to be rich, and only foolish liberals want to harp on “tax cuts for the rich.”
The better formulation here (and one that is accurate) is that Bush’s tax policy unfairly penalizes the hard working middle class and poor people fighting to try to achieve the American dream.
Bush’s tax policies kill jobs. Bush tax policies steals money from wage earners and gives it to speculators and other charlatans, who then beg for a bailout when their phony investment schemes collapse.
A tax cut doesn’t mean a damn thing if you don’t have a job.
The Republicans always cry about class warfare. But the Wall Street Journal crowd declared war on the American worker and Bush tried hard to guarantee them a victory.
Obama could say that he will work with anyone who wants to create more jobs and higher wages for American workers
, but he will not have any time for anyone who wants to maximize profits at the expense of the best interests of all Americans,
Yep. But possibly better: “Investors stole the homes and dreams of thousands of Americans. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security so that hedge investors and foolish financial institutions can play with your hard-earned retirement savings.”
What I am trying to get at here is that Obama has to make the threats to the middle class real and concrete. People would laugh at Perot when he would pull out a chart and say, “Look here. Here’s how Congress is wasting your money.”
But they would remember the point he made.
McCain and the Republicans have already shifted the terms of the debate here. They claim, probably incorrectly, that if you support off-shore drilling then the psychological effect will be to push oil prices down even though the benefits are in the future.
I think that Obama could kick McCain’s ass if he promised special tax breaks and research and development credits for America-based auto makers who would produce fuel efficient vehicles (significantly raising the CAFE standards) and also put Americans back to work at auto plants.
Alternative energy development is important, but its realization is even more speculative than the phony promise of offshore drilling.
People don’t want to be educated. They want their lives to be made better and easier. Education is then a nice bonus.
Ninerdave
…of course since it doesn’t fling shit all over McCain, we won’t be seeing it on every news cast for the next three days.
Dennis - SGMM
If McCain does bow out I’d guess that it will be because the the R’s come up with a governor – they are going to lose some Senate seats so another Senator is dead out. They’ll produce someone with a squeaky-clean family and a mouth full of Bible verses.
Davis X. Machina
…of course since it doesn’t fling shit all over McCain, we won’t be seeing it on every news cast for the next three days.
Don’t worry. If it did fling shit all over McCain, all you’d hear on every newscast for the next three days would be the screams of injured dignitude and maverickyness.
Because in America, it’s easier to change the government than The Narrative.
AnneLaurie
So… how long before we hear complaints that “Obama’s doing attack ads Toooo!!”?
Charley Gibson opened his six-thirty newscast with the line that “both campaigns are going negative.” Followed by a single line from the Obama ad about “McCain says he’ll stay with Bush’s policies”, plus the greater part of McCain’s ad. Seems Obama is “the world’s biggest celebrity” [photo switches from the Brandenberg rally to shots of Paris Hilton & Britney Spears] because just like slutty white women famous for making sex tapes & not wearing pants, Obama demands dark chocolate powerbars and black forest tea. Also, arugula. No, I am not kidding about the emphasis… the infotainment show immediately after Gibson had a helpful powerpoint graphic, bulleting the offensive commestibles, and highlighted with a photo of Hilton not wearing a bra.
Shorter McCain campaign: “Barak Obama. Did you know he’s BLACK? Now look at these slutty white women while we use suggestive words involving… consumption. This ad paid for by John McCain, who is absolutely NOT black, and he has the melanoma history to prove it.”
AnneLaurie
If McCain does bow out I’d guess that it will be because the the R’s come up with a governor – they are going to lose some Senate seats so another Senator is dead out. They’ll produce someone with a squeaky-clean family and a mouth full of Bible verses.
You just made Ricky Santorum come in his nice clean seersucker suit.
I know Santorum’s not a governor (yet), but his credentials as a foaming Talibangelical are so extensive and his personal ambition is so large…
Bruce Moomaw
You’ll be comforted to learn that — according to NY Times reporter Jim Rutenberg — all this is happening because McCain has been hypnotized by evil Rove aides into following this new campaign strategy against his will. As Drum says, this is getting to be a bit much.
zuzu's petals
I wish they’d put up Joe Klein’s “scurrilous” in big red letters, but I guess that’s too complicated of a word.
It’s the best, though.
tofubo
this always cracks me up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxzXo78WqSM&eurl=http://tofubo.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html
slag
Rachel Maddow went off on the media for peddling McCain’s BS. It was beautiful.
cleek
Tapper thinks :
STFU
DSC
this had me spewing some BLACK (fair trade Kenyan, of course) coffee all over my keyboard
good one!
Richardson
McCain in black and white is a funny idea, but they could have gone all out and made it look silent movie-ish with spliced screens and an off-set jumping reel a la Charlie Chaplin.
Not that John McCain is old or anything…
linda
how many free runs has this ad had during the msnbc fratpac gatherings, compared to the mccain campaign’s freebies.
J.D. Rhoades
Especially since it’s going to drive the Brownshirt Blogosphere into paroxysms of absolute mouth-foaming rage. Pass some of that popcorn down the aisle, y’all.
TheFountainHead
Yes! Yes! More! MORE!
Adrienne
AnneLaurie:
I’m from PA and Santorum has ZERO shot at the governors mansion. Remember we voted his ass OUT of the US Senate and basically finished his political career. He’s out with the trash. It’s actually almost sad the way he tries to keep himself relevant by writing op-eds in the Philly papers that everyone important ignores. I guess noone told the “future star of the Republican party” that his 15 mins expired.
Dennis - SGMM
They have many Santorums. Substance is nothing – image is everything for the Republicans.
AkaDad
This is a really good ad, but for maximum effect, I would have started the ad with McCain’s quote on running an honorable campaign.
I like how the ad hits McCain on his strength of supposedly being a straight talker, and reminds voters of his biggest weakness, being Bush’s BFF.
I’m hoping to see an ad with this quote:
Tonybrown74
AkaDad,
Is there video of him saying that? If so then the ad could be terrifyingly simple.
[Video of John McCain saying the quote]
Then Obama comes on, stating, “77% of America believe the country is on the wrong track. If you believe that it is time for change, then your choice is clear.
“I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.”
Done!
Zuzu's Petals
Reminds me of the great Jeff Bridges-as-President quote from “Contender.” To the supercillious congressman:
“You’re the future of the Democratic Party. And you always will be.”